QC TO START MASS RELOCATION SOON

The Quezon City government is gearing up for the mass relocation of informal settler families whose dwellings are built on flood-prone areas.

To be given priority in the relocation program are families whose homes transect waterways, especially along Waling-Waling and Gumamela Streets at Roxas District and the Calvary Hill and Isla Noah at Damayang Lagi.

“We want this undertaken the soonest possible time,” Mayor Herbert Bautista said during an emergency meeting of the QC Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (QCDRRMC) at the QC Hall on Tuesday at the height of the onslaught of tropical storm “Juaning” in the country.

The Mayor, during the meeting, reiterated that the planned resettlement of said families should not be misconstrued as demolition – the relocation is to be undertaken as a rescue effort by the city government.

A resolution has been adopted by the council during the meeting to signify the city government’s continuing effort to provide a permanent solution to the problem of informal settlements in QC.

The Mayor ordered former QC Police District director Elmo San Diego, who is action officer of the QCDRRMC, to oversee the relocation of the affected families “without prejudice to their rights.”

San Diego will be coordinating with the offices of the City Building Official, Urban Poor Affairs Office, Parks Development Administration Department and the General Services Development Department, in undertaking the relocation effort.

The city is also eyeing to include in the relocation program informal settler families encroaching on the San Juan River, Tullahan River and Dario River.

At the height of tropical storm “Juaning,” the QCDRRMC mobilized personnel from the Barangay Operations Center, Engineering Department, Parks Development and Administration Department and the Social Services Development Department for rescue, relief and clean-up efforts.

Rescue boats and dump trucks were placed on standby alert.

San Diego, head of the city’s Department of Public Order and Safety, said the council also monitored the potential threat of runoff water from the Marikina River. Precy/ Ramir/ Ej/ Maureen Quiñones, PAISO